Palm Beach, Fla., Oct 27, 2004 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Florida's nine bishops have joined other episcopal state conferences is issuing a statement in parishes this past weekend that urges Catholics to vote in the presidential elections Nov. 2, and to vote according to Catholic principles.

The statement, titled "Be Faithful Citizens! Vote on November 2," encourages Catholics to consider carefully and prayerfully all of the issues at stake, especially those regarding the protection of "human life and dignity."

"From a moral perspective, the issues of concern are not always of equal importance or urgency," reads part of the one-page statement. "Some are more fundamental and therefore more pressing than others.”

The statement touches heavily on "the sacredness of human life," referring to the Church's teachings on abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, cloning and euthanasia and making reference to the Pope’s teachings in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life).

Nowhere on the statement do the bishops endorse either presidential candidate.